Hi,just another article of many that points out the truth re:"elections."

Bush v. Kerry: The Power Elite's Dream Ballot
By Michael Colby
02/13/04: If you hear gleeful giggling from behind the curtain shielding the political elites from the mere masses, you're not alone. There's a party going on and we haven't been invited. It's a presidential election party, where the puppeteers of our democracy are celebrating an upcoming election that they can't lose. It's a contest between two of their own.
George Bush versus John Kerry is a dream ballot for those whom C. Wright Mills called the "power elite," that tight little club of economic, political and military leaders who truly rule the nation. The power elite doesn't care about political party affiliations. That's child's play. In their view, fools line up to vote while the real players decide who's on the ballot. And for some reason we still refer to the whole charade as democracy. The joke's on you.
Bush v. Kerry is simply nirvana for the bluebloods. As they say in the business world: it's a win-win situation. From their perspective, whomever places his hand upon the Bible (yes, the Bible) on January 20, 2005 doesn't matter because with a Bush/Kerry contest they're already assured there will be no meaningful change in America for the next four years. None. Zero. Zippo.
Before the delusional Democrats out there start peppering me with hostile emails about the absolute necessity of getting "anybody but Bush" in the White House, just stop yourselves long enough to consider these facts: Kerry supported Bush's war on Iraq; Kerry supported Bush's tax cuts; Kerry hasn't proposed one major social or environmental initiative in over 20 years in the U.S. Senate; Kerry hasn't put forward any meaningful policy initiatives in his campaign for the presidency regarding jobs or healthcare. Kerry's campaign seems to be all about proving that he qualifies as "anybody but Bush." And all that takes is a pulse.
Bush and Kerry are also, of course, both proud military men. Bush took the easy way out of the Vietnam War by joining the National Guard – whether he showed up or not is another matter. Kerry, as he's so fond of telling us, served his country by running gunboats up and down the rivers of Vietnam. Brace yourselves, folks, because the Bush/Kerry contest will be filled with assertions and accusations about who loves the military more.
Kerry is really confusing on the issue of the military, too. Before pro-military audiences, Kerry trots out his military medals (three Purple Hearts!) and talks tough about his "duty and service" to the nation. But then he'll stand before the Dean Democrats and talk about how he led the anti-war movement when he got home. Well, John, what's it going to be: duty and service or conscientious objections?
It's this kind of double talk that has littered the political career of John Kerry. He's always hanging around talking out of both sides of his mouth until it's safe to actually pick a side – and then only if he's forced to. Kerry doesn't need Botox injections; he needs a spinal transplant.
Then consider Kerry's oft-quoted attacks on "special interests." Apparently, his special interests are holier than Bush's special interests. The truth, of course, is that they share many of the same special interests, all to the detriment of we, the non-special people.
While it pains me to invoke the words of David Brooks, a conservative columnist at The New York Times, he did sufficiently lampoon Kerry's rhetoric on special interests in a recently published column entitled "Kerry's Special Friends." After detailing many of Kerry's special favors to the high and mighty, Brooks concludes as follows:
"You just ask David Paul, one of the big figures in the savings and loan scandal, if Kerry didn't make him feel special. You just ask the high-tech executive Bob Majumder how special Kerry made him feel, at least until Majumder was charged with 40 counts of conspiracy, witness tampering, fraud, tax evasion and illegal campaign contributions. You just ask the law firms, the brokerage houses, the oil companies, the H.M.O.'s and the drug companies, which have donated tens of thousands of dollars to Kerry.
"Oh, he sometimes pretends that he doesn't care about our special interests. He puts on that callous populist facade. But deep down he cares. Maybe he cares too much. When he's out on the stump saying otherwise, he's just being a big old phony."
Of the many similarities between the patricians Bush and Kerry, there's nothing more disturbing than their membership in the super-secret and super-elite Skull & Bones club at Yale University. The fact that both men are members of this club and neither is willing to spill the beans on any of its internal secrets and favors should speak volumes about the apparent "choice" this nation is being offered on the November ballot.
"America is about to choose between two presidential candidates," writes Sam Smith, editor of the indispensable Progressive Review (www.prorev.com), "who belonged to an organization whose values were infantile, elitist, misogynist, anti-democratic and secret and whose purposes include the mutual support and protection of its members as they make their into the upper ranks of American society and throughout their adult lives. Far from apologizing for this, the two candidates refuse to give open and honest answers about their participation. Further, at least one of the candidates, Kerry, has retained a close enough relationship to the organization to have sought news members from among his young acquaintances."
If Bush v. Kerry is truly the choice being offered to the nation in November, we don't even have to wait for the voting to begin in order to declare the winner. This nation's power elites are not only poised for yet another victory, but they're thrilled by the prospects of four more years of calm, non-threatening waters from which they float their political boats.
Email the author at mcolby@wildmatters.orgCopyright: Michael Colby: http://www.wildmatters.org/Bush v. Kerry: The Power Elite's Dream BallotBy Michael Colby02/13/04: If you hear gleeful giggling from behind the curtain shielding the political elites from the mere masses, you're not alone. There's a party going on and we haven't been invited. It's a presidential election p
arty, where the puppeteers of our democracy are celebrating an upcoming election that they can't lose. It's a contest between two of their own.George Bush versus John Kerry is a dream ballot for those whom C. Wright Mills called the "power elite," that tight little club of economic, pol
itical and military leaders who truly rule the nation. The power elite doesn't care about political party affiliat
ions. That's child's play. In their view, fools line up to vote while the real players decide who's on the ballot. And for some reason we still refer to the whole charade as democracy. The joke's on you.Bush v. Kerry is simply nirvana for the blue
bloods. As they say in the business world: it's a win-win situation. From their perspective, whomever places his hand upon the Bible (yes, the Bible) on January 20, 2005 doesn't matter because with a Bush/Kerry contest they're already assured there will
be no meaningful change in America for the next four years. None. Zero. Zippo. Before the delusional Democrats out there start peppering me with hostile emails about the absolute necessity of getting "anybody but Bush" in the White H
ouse, just stop yourselves long enough to consider these facts: Kerry supported Bush's war on Iraq; Kerry supported Bush's tax cuts; Kerry ha
sn't proposed one major social or environmental initiative in over 20 years in the U.S. Senate; Kerry
hasn't put forward any meaningful policy initiatives in his campaign for the presidency regarding jobs or he
althcare. Kerry's campaign seems to be all about proving that he qualifies as "anybody but Bush." And all that takes is a pulse.Bush and Kerry are also, of course, both proud military men. Bush took the easy way out of the Vietnam War by joining the National Guard – whether he showed up or not is another matter. Kerry, as he's so f
ond of telling us, served his country by running gunboats up and down the rivers of Vietnam. Brace yourselves, folks, because the Bush/Kerry contest will be filled with assertions and accusations about who loves the milita
ry more. Kerry is really confusing on the issue of the military, too. Before pro-military audiences, Kerry trots out his military medals (three Purple Hearts!) and talks tough about his "duty and service" to the nation. But then he'll stand befor
e the Dean Democrats and talk about how he led the anti-war movement when he got home. Well, John, what's it going to be: duty and service or conscientious objections? It's this kind of double talk that has littered the political career of John Kerry. He's always hanging arou
nd talking out of both sides of his mouth until it's safe to actually pick a side – and then only if he's forced to. Kerry doesn't need Botox injections; he needs a spinal transplant. Then consider Kerry's oft-quoted a
ttacks on "special interests." Apparently, his special interests are holier than Bush's special interests. The truth, of course
, is that they share many of the same special interests, all to the detriment of we, the non-special people. While it pains me to invoke the words of David Brooks, a conservative columnist at The New Y
ork Times, he did sufficiently lampoon Kerry's rhetoric on special interests in a recently published column entitled "Kerry's Special Friends." After detailing many of Kerry's special favors to the high and mighty, Brooks concludes as follows:"You just ask David Paul, one
of the big figures in the savings and loan scandal, if Kerry didn't make him feel special. You just ask the high-tech executive Bob Majumder how special Kerry made him feel, at least until Majumder was charged with 40 counts of conspiracy, witness tampering, fraud, tax evasion and illegal campaign
contributions. You just ask the law firms, the brokerage houses, the oil companies, the H.M.O.'s and the drug companies, which have donated tens of thousands of dollars to Kerry."Oh, he sometimes pretends that he doesn't care about our special i
nterests. He puts on that callous populist facade. But deep down he cares. Maybe he cares too much. When he's out on the stump saying otherwise, he's just being a big old phony." Of the many similarities between the patricians Bush and Kerry, there's nothing more disturbing than their membership in the super-secret and super-elite Skull & Bones club at Yale University. The fact th
at both men are members of this club and neither is willing to spill the beans on any of its internal secrets and favors should speak volumes about the apparent "choice" this nation is being offered on the November ballot. "America is about to choose between two presidential candidates," writes Sam Smith, editor of the indispensable Progressive Review (www.prorev.com), "who belonged to an orga
nization whose values were infantile, elitist, misogynist, anti-democratic and secret and whose purposes include the mutual support and protection of its members as they make their into the upper ranks of American society and throughout their adult lives. Far from apologizing for this, the two candidates refuse to give open and honest answers about their par
ticipation. Further, at least one of the candidates, Kerry, has retained a close enough relationship to the organization to have sought news members from among his young acquaintances."If Bush v. Kerry is truly the choice being offered to the nation in N
ovember, we don't even have to wait for the voting to begin in order to declare the winner. This nation's power elites are not only poised for yet another victory, but they're thrilled by the prospects of four more years of calm, non-threatening wat
ers from which they float their political boats. Email the author at mcolby@wildmatters.orgCopyright: Michael Colby: http://www.wildmatters.org/

I understand you are very passionate about how much the political parties seem to really not offer much difference between them and I respect that and even agree with some of what you're saying.

However, THIS election year is probably the most important one that we've seen in our lifetime, IMHO. I shudder to think what our nation and possibly the entire world will be like by 2008 if GWB is elected legitimately this time round. I don't think we Americans will ever cast a more important vote than we will this year.

You see, Bush, if elected, won't have a re-election to worry about so he won't be making even a token effort to be less dishonest. He and his henchmen like Rumsfelt and Ashcroft will have four more years to suppress our Constitutional rights even more via Patriot Act clones, and the rich will have gotten richer and the poorer even more destitute by his help the rich tax cuts. His religious zeal will be unchecked, resulting in more and more terrorism threats and/or acts at home and abroad. Who knows what country he plans to invade during a second term...Syria? Iran? North Korea? China?

Do you want to see more of our military men and women die because Bush needs to stroke his ego and "change the world?"

If we don't vote for Kerry, Bush will win...Nader doesn't stand a chance, no matter what, so please don't throw your vote away. This is a crucial election year...our very way of life may be riding on the results of this Presidential election. Please vote for the person who can make Bush lose his ill-gotten post...that man is John Kerry, like him or not.

Even if I didn't like Kerry, I'd still vote for him for the sake of our nation, our rights, and to give an intelligent, legitimately-elected man a chance to get back the integrity our nation has lost as a result of Bush being at the helm since 2000.

Hi,Catherine,I appreciate your questions,and will answer to the best of my ability.
I plan to vote for Nader like I did last time.If Nader was'nt running I wouldnt vote period.
It's very rare when there is a candidate who has integrity,honesty,an unassailable record of consistancy on all the issues we are confronted with,and a firm understanding of the quagmire of filth our country has been steadily suckered into,who offers real solutions for reversing the incredible damage heaped upon us through the years.
I wish Nader could win,but I know he won't,cause people have been so indoctrinated all their lives to identify theirselves by the two=(one) party system.
I don't for a second fall for the media lies and propoganda,that a vote for Nader is a vote for Bush,or that by voting for Nader,I'm throwing my vote away.
That's exactly the kind of thinking the power elite and their media shills want people to believe.
The media can't ignore Nader cause he's too well known,so since they can't smear his character,or reputation,they resort to these scare tactics,and a form of coersion to make people either afraid to vote for an independent,un-owned worthy candidate,or ashamed and guilty if they vote for anyone other than who the powers that be select for us to "vote"for.
I truly don't believe Bush will be re-elected,cause when he arranged for that cia agent,Valerie Plame to be outed,not only did he turn most of the cia against him,but since this outed agent was working a sensitive assignment having to do with oil,Iraq,and who knows what else,I believe he lost the backing of his behind the scenes masters.
With all the news articles seeping into the main-stream media about Bush and his erratic behaviour,the ongoing atrocities in Iraq,among other negative Bush articles,its becoming clear,that someone,or some very powerful group,(his masters,the global elite) must have given the approval necessary for the main-stream media to start reporting on some of these damaging facts.
Even daddy bush,has'nt made a peep as far as I know,(at least publicly) in defence of jr.
His silence speaks volumes.Even though daddy bush is just as bad if nit worse,he serves the same masters,so his silence is quite telling.
The intelligence agencies such as the cia also serve these same masters,rather than any one president no matter who that might be.And with the early"retirement"=
(forced resignation) of George Tenet,and other top officials,not to mention the Bushies blaming everything on cia incompetence,Bush's masters know they have to teach him a lesson,and make no mistake about it,Bush gets the message loud and clear.
So my opinion is that the power elite always have a back-up strategy in case things get a little too out of control,hence John Kerry.Now with the announcement that John Edwards will be his running mate,the media is going to be glamorizing the Kerry&Edwards ticket.
They know that image instead of substance works wonders on the public,so replacing the Bizzare Bush with another of their own,Kerry,was'nt to difficult.
Bush knows his days are numbered,so like I said before,he and his cronies are at their most dangerous now through election time.(If we have any elections.)
We need to start realizing that if we are serious about real change,then it's up to us to effect that change.And we won't get any positive change if we remain in the mindset of "lesser of two evils"or being resigned to just "settling."
So even if Nader does'nt win, his running will serve as a great contribution in hopefully waking the public up,and people starting to realize we don't need to remain trapped in the vise between two corrupt,wothless,corporatrely greed driven parties of parasites,and ghouls.
We also can't forget that qualified independent citizens have the constitutional right to run for office,and that there is no law giving preferential exclusive domain to these two dead parties who have robbed us blind,and suckered us into the grave state we are confronted with now.
And every single one of us share the blame,cause for way too long we have compromised ourselves by letting them keep pulling us toward total destruction,as we passively go along for the ride.
If anything,Ralph Nader is helping people to wake up,and realize just how deeply the power elite and their propoganda media shills have distorted,and indoctrinated our collective political mentality.
We have been so ingrained with their agendas,we refuse to rid ourselves of the scum that is turning America,has turned America into a cesspool of compromise.
We have to remember that if we are serious about effecting real change,its our right under the constitution,(while we still have one) to get these F.....ing leeches out of power,along with their illegal and unconstitutional federal reservre bank,which is not a government institution,and their masters,and propoganda media scam artists.
Until people are serious about effecting this real change,which would still take many years,we have nothing to look forward to,and no hope for restoring America.Or rather an America as originally envisioned.
And then we will have only ourselves to blame.
You're right that I am passionate about these issues,for much of my life I knew things were really wrong,but I never paid much attention to what was going on in the world,and did'nt understand the cause and effect,and the forces behind them.
But thak God I woke up,and since I started researching these and related issues,I'm becoming more aware everyday just how dangerous a state we're in.
And like you,I'm grateful we have this forum to discuss these issues.
And the fact that we take this seriously,and take this opportunity to post and discuss our opinions,views,concerns,and suggestions is a hopeful sign.
So,these are some of the reasons I feel the way I do,and I appreciate this forum,and I appreciate your questions.Like I said,I'm glad those of us who are concerned,and take these issues seriously have this forum to exchange our concerns.
I guess we try to do what we can,with what we have to start with.This is a good start.

Hi,Catherine,thanks,I have the upmost respect for your opinions also.I'm looking forward to the debares too.Do you know when they will be?I hope they include Nader in the debates.
If Kerry wins,as I expect he will,this board will still be running strong! I do wish people would post more often,don't you?
Sometimes it seems like days go by without new posts.
I read your post when suggesting religion as a topic,I think thats a great idea,and am glad to see it up on the board.I read your observation to Jesse re:the low volume of posts,and I hope things pick up too!
This is a great forum and we are lucky to have a board like this.If you have heard anything about when the debates will be held,please post when!

Most likely the debates will be televised between mid-September and mid-October so they will be at the forefront of people's memories when they go to the polls...which could be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on how well your candidate did.

Never fear...the media will let us know when they are scheduled to be held.

Kerry: Where are those WMD, Mr. President?

Bush: Where are your medals, Senator?

Kerry: At least I had some, Mr. President!

(Not sure how Nader would chime in!)

I think there will also be a debate between the VP candidates.

After the two conventions, things will most likely heat up.

This is going to be the Mother of all elections, IMHO! AND I can just imagine the fallout if Florida has voting problems...again!

Hi,Catherine,Yah,we can always count on the media to remind us when debates will be held,till we repeat it in our sleep!
I came across this article,and posted it under Current Events,but it belongs here too.I urge everyone to read this,and e-mail this article to everyone you know.

The Article is Titled:"Bush Regime
Working out Procedores for Postponing November Elections"
By Webster Griffin Tarplry,7/10/2004

Let's pray they don't get away with this!Hopefully,most people,and even most of the media are starting to see through this crap!
Just by the Bushies coming out with this B.S. shows their desperation.
Like I said,I believe they know their days are numbered!!!

As far as the debates and Bush and WMDs,Bush is the WMD!So are his desperate cronies!!!
Kerry and military,well he has stated he will continue the"liberation" of Iraq,and has told the anti-war movement,and the peace movements to "Get Over It!"
Nader will be an important part of the debates,as he will hopefully be allowed,(meaning his microphone won't "misfunction") to confront both Bush and Kerry re:All issues we face now.
Nader in April has publicly called for a petion before congress for the impeachment of Bush$co.Hope the criminals get what they so richly deserve!
Cheney is already facing a whole slew of serious charges here and in France,re:Halliburton,and various slush fund shenanigans!
I'll look up some interesting URLs for some eye-opening revelations,in articles I've read.
Don't think Cheney,CEO.of America inc. will weazle his way out of this whole mess!!!
So,please read the article about Bush Regime and their possible "October Surprise," and tell all you know about it.

p.s.if they are hopefully stopped from committing another atrocity,I wonder if they'll pull out that big bad meanie,Osama,or some poor patsy who looks like him out of one of their many hats!!!!!